Council Representative Reminds Voters About TSPLOST's Local Impact
Metro Atlanta votes on the TSPLOST on July 31.
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There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the July 31 TSPLOST vote, but Ward 1 Smyrna City Council Representative Melleny Pritchett thinks one key point about the referendum has been overlooked.
“If this TSPLOST passes, the city of Smyrna will receive between $8.5 and $9 million of the money,” she said at Monday’s City Council Meeting. “It will come to the city directly from the TSPLOST. It won’t go to the county. It will come directly to us (…) Nobody’s talking about that. I haven’t heard much about it. It’s all about the big picture, but it does benefit the actual cities.”
According to the Atlanta Regional Commission, 85 percent of the funding collected from the TSPLOST would be used to fund a list of 157 approved transportation projects throughout metro Atlanta. The remaining 15 percent would be distributed to local jurisdictions like cities and counties based on a formula that calculates a municipality’s population and roadway mileage.
Each local governing body then decides how to use the funding. The money can be used for projects like road maintenance and resurfacing, sidewalks, transit services and roadways.
Pritchett said if passed, the city will ask citizens what they’d like the money to be used for at public meetings. A project list will be created from these suggestions.
According to the Cobb County Department of Transportation, Smyrna is estimated to receive $8,584,041. Of that money $5 million is designated for road improvements, $1 million is designated for sidewalks and $2,584,041 is designated for resurfacing.
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James Bell
11:55 am on Thursday, July 19, 2012
For more information on the sales tax referendum visit www.tsplost.info
Mark A
12:26 am on Friday, July 20, 2012
or if you're actually looking to get more information about the tsplost and the projects it will fund, try one of these links:
http://www.metroatlantatransportationreferendum.com/
http://www.dot.state.ga.us/localgovernment/FundingPrograms/transreferendum/Pages/ProjectList.aspx
Keep telling yourself how clever you are, though.
Lissa K.
4:10 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
http://smyrnarealtor.wordpress.com/page/7/
This is a hoot to read. 2007. Then it was TAD now it's TSPLOST. Teri A. is even mentioned. (She likes her name in print.) (Sotto voce)
Lissa K.
4:14 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
You're right we'll notice the benefit to Smyrna from the 2005 SPLOST. $17 million of the $43 million was checks written to Croy Engineering (info from 2005 check registry).
We also clearly see this waste with the Concord Rd. improvements, Atlanta medians, and Interstate style Spring Rd. pedestrian bridge.
I'm voting NO,.. NOT AGAIN!
Brian
1:55 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012
Governments require a bidding process and must take the lowest bid that meets the requirements. For instance, the new road from Ward St to Belmont Hills is going through a bidding process right now.
Leigh Anne Rehkopf
5:43 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Nice to see that there's nothing in here to improve mass transit or bike lanes. Who needs alternative transportation anyway?
Mark A
12:27 am on Friday, July 20, 2012
uh, what?
http://www.metroatlantatransportationreferendum.com/
R. Anderson
7:22 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
"Pritchett said if passed, the city will ask citizens what they’d like the money to be used for at public meetings. A project list will be created from these suggestions." In a parallel universe maybe but not this Smyrna. The bigger the lie the more they believe it.
Brian
1:56 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012
Quite contrary. Even ignoring the local funds which Smyrna can spend on its own pet projects, a majority of Cobb improvements from T-Splost's main list will be to the Smyrna area: Windy Hill, South Cobb, the I-75/Windy Hill interchange.
504ATL
11:36 pm on Thursday, July 19, 2012
BLAH BLAH BLAH -- Complaints are throw around because no town hall meetings are scheduled to give citizens details or a voice; and when a councilmember states that a public meeting will take place -- It is a big lie!! Can't have it both ways....
Smyrnan
8:58 am on Friday, July 20, 2012
Citizens appear before the council with legitimate issues and the council ignores them. We're supposed to believe they'll take suggestions from citizens about how to spend TSPLOST money. They didn't ask when they spent money on Hickory Lake, Smyrna Commons, or that property at Concord & Dunton. And this is the same council rep who said they'd start streaming council meetings on the city's web site. Unfortunately she didn't say which millennium.
Erik Fernald
12:51 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
Why does it feel like politicians are for this and citizens are against this. It comes down to trust and accountability. Both are in short supply when it comes to our money and how it is spent. I like our balanced budgets/lack of deficits in Smyrna locally, but the further out money travels from home the less it can be trusted to be spent in a prudent manner. Vote no, do the right thing.
R. Anderson
3:55 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012
Don't put too much trust in this city's Mayor. He likes to move money around. Don't take it at face value when he says it's coming up roses in Smyrna.
Bruce
3:42 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012
Smyrna, the wart on the backside of the World.
Vote NO TSPLOST! It's the last item on the ballot. And don't forget to vote for a new Cobb Chairman.
Bruce
3:43 pm on Saturday, July 21, 2012
UGA Professor: 'T-SPLOST Prospects Look Dim'